‘I propose that we grow up a little bit’: Biohackers grapple with when to reject mainstream science — and when to embrace it

LAS VEGAS — Biohackers have gained notoriety with provocative stunts like injecting themselves with CRISPR, an untested gene therapy, and an experimental herpes treatment. At a gathering of some 150 biohackers here on Saturday, nobody injected themselves on stage — though a few did get magnets implanted under their skin during the conference’s happy hour.

To be sure, the conference featured plenty of the brash talk and rage-against-the-machine attitude that has characterized a community built around bucking the conventions of mainstream science. But for the first time, the gathering — now in its fourth year — featured a hall of scientific posters and vendor booths, those hallmarks of any scientific conference. And on stage, leaders in the movement debated whether to embrace practices like